Production of industrial ethanol from banana peel (Musa paradisiaca)

Elaboración de Etanol industrial de cáscara de banana (Musa paradisiaca)

Abstract

The present research work focused on obtaining industrial ethanol from banana peels. To achieve this, a methodology was designed that included the following processes: obtaining, selection and pretreatment, alkaline and acid hydrolysis, fermentation, filtration, and distillation. Three control variables were selected through a 2k factorial design to optimize ethanol development: molarity of sulfuric acid, amount of yeast, and fermentation days. The optimal combination was 1.63 M acid concentration, 0.57 g of yeast per 100 g of peel, and 10 days of fermentation. The physicochemical properties of the distillate obtained with the best ethanol yield were: alcohol grade of 65% v/v, refractive index of 1.362, ethanol percentage of 51 mL/g of peel, and pH of 5.1. Additionally, the distillate was characterized by gas chromatography: 5.4% methanol/100g AA, 0.06% furfural/100g AA, 16.6% esters/100g AA, 11.5% aldehydes/100g AA, and 66.7% heavy alcohols/100g AA. The distillate obtained is categorized as raw alcohol according to COVENIN 3370-98, and the ethanol yield per unit mass of banana peel was 53%.

Keywords: Ethanol, fermentation, distillation, hydrolysis, banana peel, yield